William blakey



(No Model.)

W. BLAKEY. SHUTTLE FOR SEWING MACHINES.

NITED STATES PMENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BLAKEY, OF LEEDS, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT B. BROWN & SONS, OF SAME PLACE.

SHUTTLE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 443,744, dated December 30, 1890. A

Application filed March 26, 1890. Serial No. 345,460. (No model.) Patented in England July 26, 1889,No. 11,906.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BLAKEY, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Leeds,in the county of York,England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Shuttles, (for which I have obtained provisional protection in Great Britam July 26, 1889, No. 11,906,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of sewing-machine shuttles known as the rotary-hook shuttles,'which are constructed in circular and skeleton form, having the rim formed in one piece extending about three-fourths of the circumference of the shuttle, said shuttles being provided with a central pin for receiving the spool. Hitherto great difficulty has been experienced in adjusting this class of shuttle in the race of the machine. Although several devices have been adopted to accomplish this-such as, for instance, boring a number of small holes around the race which are filled with pieces of hides or leather or screws capable of being set up or adjusted to the perimeter of the shuttle as the latter wears awayyet it has been found that after the shuttle has been in use for a short time, owing to the great speed in many instances at which it revolves, it wears away, and is liable by its gravity to fall from the work operated upon while the stitch is being formed, thus producing imperfect sewing, as well as causing the shuttle to become useless before it is half worn out. Now the object of this invention is to overcome these difficulties and to construct the shuttle so that it shall automatically adjust itself to the race of the machine as its perimeter (by frictional contact with race and the speed at which it rotates) wears away.

In the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a front and back elevation of a rotary-hook shuttle constructed according to my invention. Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a modified form of shuttle embodying myinvention. Figs. 3 and 4 are end elevations d rawn in opposite directions; Fig. 5, a front elevation of shuttle; Fig. 6, a plan looking at the top of shuttle shown at Fig.1. Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a front and end elevation of a rotary-hook shuttle provided with a spring for keeping the shuttle up to its work. Fig. 9 is part front elevation of a shuttle race or guide of a )Vheeler & Wilson machine (with its cap and a portion of the bobbin or spool holder removed) with driver and my improved shuttle shown in position; Fig. 10, an elevation of a shuttle with its rim attached loosely to its center; Fig. 11, an elevation of a loose rim.

Like parts in all the views are marked with the same letters of reference.

A is a rotary-hook shuttle constructed in circular and skeleton form, provided with a central pin B for receiving the bobbin or spool. In order to obtain the necessary elasticity or spring for keeping the perimeter of the rim of the shuttle automatically in conv tact with the race or guide, as shown at Fig. 9, and up to its work during the whole or any portion of its rotation, the rim 0 may either be divided, as shown at Figs. 1, 2, and 5, or armed with a spring, as shown at Figs. 7 and 8,-at any suitable distance from the heel of the shuttle, but preferably at such a distance therefrom that an elastic, constant, and adjusting pressure may be applied to the rim from its pointed portion to, say, about onefourth its circumference from the opposite or heel side thereof for preventing it from falling during any portion of its revolution.

At Figs. 1 to 6 a shuttle is shown with a divided rim 0, so as to form a spring nearly opposite to the point cthatis to say,instead of making the rim 0 (which forms theperimeter of the shuttle) from the hook c to the heel c in one piece, as has been hitherto done, the rim 0 is divided at D into two pieces, as shown, by cutting a slit or removinga portion thereof at any suitable distance from the heel c. In practice I have found that when a slit ora portion of the rim (say about'three-sixteenths of an inch) is cut or removed at D-say in an oblique direction at'(when the shuttle is'aboutone and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter) about one-fourth of an inch from the heel c satisfactory results may be obtained; but I IOO or removed in an oblique direction, as it would answer equally as well when out or formed in a horizontal or any other angular direction. Neither do I limit myself to the above or any otherdimension herein given, as the same may be varied or modified as circumstances require. In order to obtain'the requisite amount of elasticity or spring for automatically keeping the perimeter of the rim 0 in contact with the race, and thus preventing the shuttle from falling while formingthe stitch, a recess E of, say, about one-sixteenth (or more) of an inch in depth and,say, about three-.eighths of an inch in length may be cut or formed (at, say, about one and three-fourths of an inch circumferentially from the heel c) in the inner portion of the rim, as shown at Figs. 1 and 2, or in the outer portion, as shown at Fig. 5, and when necessary the rim 0 may be afterward tempered by any ordinary means to give it the necessary elasticity or spring.

In order to prevent the ends of the rim at the opening D catching or coming in contact with pointsf and f of the race or guide F or its cover, should the machine be turned in the opposite direction to that shown by arrow, the portion of the rim 0 at c 0 may be slightly rounded off, and thus press the end 0 within the race and allow the shuttle to revolve freely.

At Figs. 7 and 8 a shuttle is shown with a spring I (applied to the perimeterof the shuttie nearly opposite to the point e) for obtaining the necessary elasticity for automatically keeping the shuttle up to its work. In cases where it is desirable to keep the rim of the shuttle as strong as possible, instead of cutting a slit or removing a portion of the rim in a diagonal direction, forming recess E, and afterward tempering the rim to obtain the necessary elasticity, a recess or groove Il may be cut or formed concentrically or eccentrically in the edge of the rim from the heel 0' to about point It 011 the perimeter-that is to say, when the shuttle is about one and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter a groove may be out in the edge of the rim about three thirtyseconds of an inch in width by about one and a fourth inch in length (circumferentially) by about one-eight of an inch in depth at the heel c and a sixteenth of an inch (more or less) deep at the point 7:. Into the groove II is inserted a spring I, which may be riveted or otherwise secured to the shuttlerim at h and bent at the heel .c to prevent its catching or coming in contact with the points f and f of the shuttle race or guide F should the machine be reversed. By bending or curving the free end, as described, a cam or incline is thus formed, which permits of the spring I being forced within the groove II withoutdamage. As the rim of the shuttle wears away, the spring I expands, and thus keeps the pointed portion G of the shuttle in contact with the race and up to its work, thus preventingthe shuttle from falling when for1ning the stitch.

In some cases, when it is preferred not to recess the rim 0 at E and to avoid tempering the rim, as described for Figs. 1 to 6, it may be provided with a groove II and armed with a spring I, as. shown in Fig. l, in a similar manner to that described in connection wlth Figs. 7 and 8, in which case the curved or bent free end may be made to pass within the slit II).

I also in some cases make the shuttle as shown at Figs. 10 and 1lthat is, the rim 0 is made of elastic or spring metal, is divided at D, and attached loosely to the skeleton center A (armed with the pin B) by means of projections a radiating from the center of the pin B, which are passed into recesses c 0* provided for their reception in the inner periphery of the rim The radial pro ection a prevents the rim from moving around thecenter, but permits it to expand or contract relatively thereto. By this means, when the nut is sprung into its race F, a larger amount of elasticity'is obtained than when recessed at E.

The improved shuttle A is made to fit within the race or guide F, as shown at Fig. 9, and the elastic portion of the rim 0 from the slit D to the recess E or the spring II is made of such a length that in whatever position the pointed portion 0 of the shuttle may be during its rotation the spring or elastic portion is acting upon the periphery of the race at a point nearly opposite to 0. Thus when the shuttle is in the position shown at Fig. 9, the pressure is applied at or about f opposite (or nearly so) to the pointed portion 0; but when the pointed portion 0 has been rotated 1n the race to about f, then the elastic or spring portion will be in contact with race at or about point f.

The shuttle A, (with the exception of the parts or portions above named constituting this invention bobbin-pin B, race or guide F, driver J, and parts connected therewith may be of ordinary construction and arranged to operate in the usual manner.

hat I claim, and desire to be secured to me by Letters Patent, is

1. A rotatable shuttle having a central or body portion provided with a rim a portion of which is yielding or elastic, so as to yield or expand automatically in the shuttle-race, said yielding portion forming a curved eontinuation of the rigid portion of the rim.

2. A rotatable shuttle having a free, automatieally-expansible, elongated, yielding, spring curved portion in the periphery of the rim, adapted to bear against the shuttle-race.

3. A rotatable shuttle having a skeleton center or body portion and an openslit near its heel to form a curved spring-arm in its rim, free to yield or expand in the sh uttle-race.

4-. A rotatable shuttle having, a skeleton center, a hook, and a spring-arm opposite the hook, said spring-arm being separated from the heel by a slit in the rim and having a recess at its inner end.

5. In a rotatable shuttle, the combination In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specification, in presence of :0 two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM BLAKEY. Witnesses:

W. FAIRBURN HART, I. W. PERKINS. 

